DEQ Starts MS4 Phase II Advisory Committee
DEQ has initiated an advisory to work with municipalities, environmental public interest groups, and others to develop a general permit for MS4 Phase II municipalities. The first meeting is November 7th in Portland; the group plans to meet every other month into September, 2014, alternating between Eugene and Portland. Information on the meetings, including draft agendas and background materials, is available online.

Wipe Out – Quantifying the Costs of Clogs
Frank Dick made this presentation at the Chicago WEFTEC conference on the costs of clogs from wipes (Tech Session 610).

Also, Vancouver tested a variety of wipes that labeled as ‘flushable’ to determine their impact on the treatment plant. A copy of the report on the field testing of ‘flushables’ is here. (Vancouver Flushable Test Report)

DEQ Revises Odor Complaint Policy
Oregon DEQ has revised its policy for handling nuisance odor complaints. As part of the discussions on the draft policy between ACWA and DEQ, DEQ staff have revised the policy to ensure that municipalities and districts with an odor complaint tracking system are given the opportunity to respond to and resolve odor complaints. A PDF of the revised policy is available online.

The DEQ nuisance odor complaint policy states:If DEQ staff finds that a municipal waste water treatment plant has an established system for receiving and responding to complaints, they will provide the source an opportunity to resolve the odor problem using its own system.

.Municipalities and districts without an odor tracking system can use these examples to put a system in place:

If you have additional odor tracking systems to share with ACWA members, please provide them to the ACWA office

Environmental Groups Sue EPA over WA. Fish Consumption Rate
Environmental public interest groups, along with commercial fishing groups, have filed suit against EPA for dragging out an update in the Washington Fish Consumption Rate, used to calculate human health related water quality standards. More information can be found in this Oregonian article.

RPA Spreadsheet Updated by DEQ - An updated Reasonable Potential Analysis spreadsheet from DEQ for domestic sources is available here

This tool from DEQ is important to use to predict areas where your effluent may have Reasonable Potential to exceed water quality standards so you can implement programs and/or compliance solutions to revolve those issues prior to having limits inserted in your NPDES permit.

A reminder that the ACWA “Toxic Tales” workshops held in January and February of 2012 had a bunch of great presentations related to this topic. The presentations are posted on the ACWA web site at http://www.oracwa.org/r-conf-wkshp-pres.html.

EPA Chesapeake Bay TMDL Upheld
A federal judge has upheld the Chesapeake Bay TMDL after a challenge by the American Farm Bureau. A copy of the federal judge’s order is here
.

King County Program for Collection of Unwanted Drugs
The King County Board of Health passed the Secure Medicine Return Regulations on June 20, 2013, establishing an industry – funded product stewardship model to collect and safely dispose of unwanted household medicines from residents of the county. More about the program and its implementation is available at http://kingcountysecuremedicinereturn.org/

DEQ Updates Reasonable Potential Spreadsheets for Aquatic Species Criteria
The DEQ Surface Water Management and Standards Sections recently completed a memo containing instructions for the Reasonable Potential Analysis (RPA) and calculation of Water Quality-based Effluent Limits (WQBELs) for metals water quality criteria. These criteria differ (from before) in that many of them are expressed in terms of dissolved concentration vs. total recoverable concentration.

The memo walks a permit writer through the various steps to collect appropriate characterization data, multiple options to conduct the RPA and the process for calculation of WQBELs. It is expected that the RPA Spreadsheets and the permit template language will also be updated in the near future to reflect the new water quality criteria. If you have any questions, please contact Spencer Bohaboy of DEQ at 503-229-5415. 680-4170. The memo can be found at http://www.deq.state.or.us/wq/standards/docs/DissolvedMetalsMemo1.0.pdf

EQ Presentation on Temperature Standards
DEQ used this presentation to outline issues and options for the Oregon temperature standard to the Environmental Quality Commission at its August 2013 meeting in LaGrande.

EPA Reviews Oregon Anti-Degradation Policies
As part of the overall temperature federal litigation, EPA also reviewed and provided comments on Oregon’s guidance (called an Internal Management Directive) for antidegradation. Here is a copy of the EPA cover letter and the detailed analysis.

EPA Disapproves Oregon Temperature Standard
As expected, EPA disapproved the natural conditions criterion contained in Oregon’s water quality standard for temperature on August 8th, 2013. EPA also disapproved the general natural conditions criterion contained in Oregon’s statewide narrative criteria, which applied to other naturally occurring substances and conditions of water.

DEQ also sent sources a letter outlining the decision and its impacts on NPDES permit holders on 8/9/13.

Website Features New Integrated Planning Webpage
NACWA’s website now features an Integrated Planning (IP) resource page. The Association created the IP issue page in response to Member Agency feedback noting a lack of readily available IP information and guidance. The webpage houses valuable resources, model integrated plans, and guidance documents to assist clean water agencies. It also allows utilities exploring IP options to see how other communities have engaged local regulators and EPA in their processes. Timely information on NACWA’s continued IP advocacy is also included.

Preparing Wastewater Planning Documents and Environmental Reports for Public Utilities (5/13) outlines a consolidated approach for utility planning, including asset management and effective utility management, along with aligning and/or merging planning document requirements for wastewater improvement funding from Oregon DEQ, Infrastructure Finance Authority, Rural Community Assistance Corporation, and USDA Rural Development Corporation into a single set of recommended procedures. These new guidelines are based on an interagency memorandum dated January 16, 2013 that contains both general and detailed outlines for a preliminary engineering report (also known as a wastewater facilities plan).

ACWA Construction Site Stormwater Guide
A group of ACWA members have produced the Construction Site Stormwater Guide to highlight the most common Best Management Practices to prevent erosion and construction site stormwater pollution. It is an easy-to-read style with Illustrations and pictures.

NWEA and EPA Settle Federal Case on Oregon Temperature Standards
Northwest Environmental Advocates and EPA have settled a case before Judge Acosta on the Oregon temperature standards. Under the settlement, EPA has 120 days to develop a plan for resolving the key issues related to the use of natural thermal potential in the Oregon temperature standard. A copy of the order is here.

2013January–March

ACWA Completes Report on Septage Practices
ACWA has completed a report summarizing ACWA member practices and pricing for accepting septage. Utility
managers may want to review the report to compare their utilities practices and
fee schedules

DEQ Adopts Guidance on Mercury in NPDES Permits
DEQ has
adopted an Internal Management Directive (…think guidance) that outlines how it
will implement the methyl mercury criterion in NPDES permits. All major NPDES
permit holders will want to review the guidance to determine its impacts
regarding required monitoring and development of mercury reduction plans, if
needed. http://www.deq.state.or.us/wq/pubs/imds/IMDmethylmercuryCriterion.pdf

What are the Water Quality Standards in Oregon?
With
EPA’s move to disapprove a number of water quality standards related to aquatic
life in January, 2013, knowing the applicable water quality standards is
difficult. This link to the DEQ web site summarizes the effective standards: http://www.deq.state.or.us/wq/standards/toxics.htm

American Rivers Report Outlines Permitting Improvements for Green
Infrastructure
This report by American Rivers provides a survey of
several, new generation stormwater permits that take strong steps to keep
stormwater from running into our streams, lakes and rivers. These permits
succeed by establishing a preference for green infrastructure as the best way to
manage stormwater. The report documents several approaches that states have
adopted to increase the use of green infrastructure, and provides clear examples
of how motivated watershed advocates can provide information and support to
permit writers. http://www.americanrivers.org/newsroom/resources/permitting-green-infrastructure.html

ACWA Board Discusses Priorities with DEQ Water Quality
Staff
In a brown bag discussion on 2/14/13 - - Oregon’s birthday - -
ACWA Board members and Executive Director Janet Gillaspie discussed the ACWA
2013 priorities with DEQ Water Quality program staff. A PDF of the presentation is posted here.

Presentation for Special Districts
ACWA Executive
Director, Janet Gillaspie, provided information and updates to the SDAO Sanitary Caucus at its meeting in
Portland on 2/8/13.

DEQ
Presentation on Methyl MercurySee the presentation DEQ staff
made to the ACWA Water Quality Committee, 2/7/13, on the DEQ Internal Management
Directive on mercury issues in NPDES Permits.

Plumbing Board Adopts FOG Amendments
Effective January
1, 2013, the Oregon Plumbing Specialty Code has been revised to require all
sinks in the kitchen of a food service establishment be connected to a grease
removal device and the device be properly sized to handle that amount of grease.
The amendments were prompted by ACWA members and other municipalities concerned
about inadequate FOG controls at restaurants impacting sewer collection systems.
ACWA plans an outreach and education program on FOG for 2013. The revised rules
are available at: http://www.cbs.state.or.us/bcd/notices/Adopted_Rules/2012/20121221_FOGCodeAmendments_pr.pdf

EQ Outlines Plans for Methyl Mercury
DEQ has outlined
its plans for addressing methyl mercury issues if NPDES permit holders exceed Reasonable Potential for mercury. A memo from DEQ outlining how
the requirements will be inserted into NPDES permit is here and a link to the DEQ
guidance (called an Internal Management Directive is posted at http://www.deq.state.or.us/wq/pubs/imds/IMDmethylmercuryCriterion.pd

TMDL Implementation 5th Year Review Guidance for the
2006 Willamette Basin TMDL
The Basin Coordinator representing
your geographic area has, or will be, contacting Willamette Basin Designated
Management Agencies (DMAs) regarding the 5th year review report due
date and distribution of the December 2012 guidance template.

The guidance is subbasin and TMDL specific, and coordination and distribution
of the guidance for the 5th Year Review will be coordinated by the
Basin Coordinator that represents your geographic area. Contacts are below.

ACWA Members can contact Basin Coordinators to confirm their 5th Year Report due date and obtain a copy of the guidance in advance of DEQ
contacting them.

The December 2012 TMDL Implementation Plan Guidance – 5th Year Review
Report Template for City and County Designated Management Agencies is
preliminary and has been designed for the receipt of the first set of Willamette
5th Year Review Reports due starting in April 2013. Upon use and
feedback over the next several months, and more years of TMDL implementation
on-the-ground, it is likely that guidance will continue to evolve and be more
specific to BMP effectiveness and more adaptable for statewide use.